Outlaws and friends
by JXeleven
Summary: Several years have past since Merlin and Robin's adventure and life in Camelot was nearly perfect for Merlin. Magic was accepted, the kingdom blooms and Arthur even made him Court Warlock. After 5 years old friends are reunited, but what happens when with them old enemies also return? Will they be able to protect Camelot? Sequel to Outlaws.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hello all people out there. Yes, yes I know you're all probably wondering why I'm giving you this sequel so late (and with such an awful title, yes I suck at making titles) I have no excuses for it other than that I just didn't feel like writing it. But I have promised my beta reader (miss Persuasion) that I would write a sequel to the story through which we came in contact and I couldn't wish for a better beta reader and friend. :) But after so long I finally decided on what kind of sequel I wanted to write. As I said this will take place at Camelot several years after Outlaws ended. I won't say much about the storyline as I don't want to spoil anything. The only thing I want to say is that Robin and his men may be rather OOC, so forgive me for that (I will also not include all of the 'merry men'). So enjoy!**_

_**Warning: Violence in later chapters thus rated T. **_

xxx

''Uncle Merlin!'' Merlin spun around as he heard his name being called, but before he could look down something collided with his legs.

He grinned as he looked down, seeing how the little crown prince had his arms tightly wrapped around his legs, grinning up at him with his deep blue eyes. ''Hi little man.''

The boy started to pout at him. ''I'm not little!''

Merlin chuckled as he sank through his knees, kneeling down next to the boy. ''Of course you aren't. Now Lucan, tell me, where's your mother?''

It was when he mentioned Gwen that the little boy's eyes grew wide and he looked wildly around. ''Uhm...'' He started before he turned back to look at Merlin and the warlock could see tears form in the boy's eyes. ''M-mommy was right behind me when I saw her last...'' He whispered before the tears really started rolling over his cheeks. ''D-daddy is going to be so angry... I pr-promised to look after her and- and now I lost her.''

Merlin gave him a reassuring smile before he picked up the four year old, the boy buried his head into the warlock's shirt and Merlin could already feel the fabric become soggy. ''It's going to be alright, let's find your mother.'' The prince simply nodded and Merlin started walking into the direction the boy had came from.

His eyes shifted through the crowd, searching for his queen. He knew that Gwen was probably worried about her missing son. The boy had the bad habit of running off when he saw someone he knew, which in this case was his uncle Merlin, and it made his parents worry sick about him. Normally he could laugh about it, which caused Arthur to hit him on the back of his head or throw a cup at him or something like that, but now that Gwen was pregnant again... He didn't want her to worry too much as he knew it was bad for the baby.

Lucan let out another sob, but he pulled his face out of Merlin's shirt and he too started to look around for his mother. He couldn't believe how much his life had changed in the past couple of years. He smiled softly as he remembered Robin and his merry men, it had been almost five years since he had left them and besides the occasional letters from them he hadn't seen them in all those years. Once back they had found out that Gwen was pregnant with Lucan, he was just glad that the whole ordeal hadn't effected the child in any way.

But what had changed him the most was the fact that Arthur had made him Court warlock of Camelot and repelled the ban on magic. The whole country had been shocked and the council had been outraged, but in the end it had mostly positive effects on Camelot, the people had bloomed, cheering for their newly found freedom, even though most weren't magical themselves.

''Lucan!'' He turned to Gwen's voice as he heard her scream in relief.

The boy squealed in delight and he struggled in the warlock's arms. Merlin quickly set him down on the ground and the prince hurried of towards his mother, who herself waddled towards her son.

Merlin soon followed him and Gwen looked back up at him with relief. ''I'm so glad that he was with you.'' She then turned to her son and looked at him with a scolding glare. ''And you young man, you shouldn't have run away like that, do you even know how worried I was about you?''

Lucan's eyes fell and he mumbled. ''I'm sorry mommy.''

She breathed deeply out before taking her son in a tight hug. ''Good, now let's go back home.''

The boy nodded and he took his mother's hand. The three of them walked back to the castle. Merlin looked at Gwen and especially her enormous belly, she was only seven months along and she already looked bigger than when she was pregnant with Lucan. ''Are you okay?''

She looked a bit startled up at him. ''Yeah, yeah I'm fine, just tired and all...''

They walked further in silence, but halfway Merlin noticed a messenger running their way and they stopped, watching as the young man ran up to them and half stumbled to a halt right in front of them. The delivery boy was panting heavily before he looked up at the two of them and hastily bowed. ''Excuse me my lady, sir.'' He turned to look at Merlin. ''Your presence is needed at the southern wall.''

Merlin gave him a quick nod. ''Thank you.'' He turned to look at Gwen and the young prince. ''I will be going then, get some rest and you young man, need to stick with your mother and try not to worry us so much.''

Gwen smiled at him. ''Remember that you have dinner with me and Arthur tonight, no skipping again!'' The last she said with a scolding look before turning and walking towards the caste.

The warlock looked for a moment more at her and the little boy holding her hand before he too turned around and quickly made his way towards the southern wall. He had to admit he was a bit worried, he knew that Gilli was training with the students on the open field just outside of the walls. Hopefully they hadn't blown up anything again.

Once he arrived at the southern gate he met a rather wild looking Gilli and it didn't help that he was covered in what looked like gray dust. Merlin looked him up and down as the sorcerer looked at him with guilt in his eyes. ''So what happened?''

Gilli rubbed the back of his neck before his eyes shifted to the students, who were standing nervously at the side. ''Uhh... Jul-we kind of destroyed part of the Southern wall.''

The Court warlock raised his eyebrow. ''And you called me here to fix it?'' Gilli slowly nodded and Merlin rolled his eyes. ''It's fine, but maybe we should move the training field further away from the castle and people, until the students will be able to control their powers more.'' In the corner of his eyes he could see the student's eyes fall. They still had a lot to learn, but he had to admit, they were definitely improving. ''Now hurry up back home, you all have a lot of homework still to do!''

The students hurried off and Gilli, before following the students, looked at him with accusing eyes. Merlin just laughed at him, he didn't really mind cleaning up their mess, it was a welcome change to his daily routine, though he knew that Arthur didn't really like the students blowing up parts of the wall... and buildings, the knight's training field, part of the kitchen... He shrugged.

He quickly made his way towards the part of the wall that they had destroyed. It wasn't as bad as he feared and he quickly spoke several spells. He could feel the magic spread from his fingers and touch the stones or at least what was left of it. His magic repaired and rebuilt the wall and soon it looked just like the other parts of the walls.

Merlin inspected it for a moment more before he smiled and turned to walk back to the castle, he had promised to have dinner with the king and queen after all and he didn't want to disappoint Gwen... Again. He somehow had this bad habit of skipping meals or not eating at all.

He had barely reached the gate when he felt a presence near him. He wanted to spin around to face the person behind him, but before he could do anything or even see who or what was behind him he was grabbed by his waist, his arms pinned to his side.

He yelped out in shock as he was tilted upwards. He started to struggle, kicking the person behind him. A snicker was heard from behind him before he heard the man speak. ''Merlin, calm down, it's me. You do remember me, right?''

Immediately Merlin froze, for a moment just looking shocked in front of him, before he turned to face the man behind him. His eyes met a pair of deer brown ones and a smile that completed the picture. ''Robin?'' He asked weakly.

''Yeah, it is me.'' The outlaw answered with a chuckle.

xxx

The king hastily made his way down the streets, ignoring the people who all quickly bowed for him. He was going to find that idiot of his and drag him back to the castle, he wasn't going to allow Merlin to miss another meal. He knew that Gwen was getting worried about him and he had to admit it, he too was a bit worried about his friend, but he wasn't going to admit it out loud.

Still he could see that Merlin was enjoying life a lot more than when he was his servant. He finally was free to be who he truly was and he was clearly enjoying it. Merlin had adapted to his new status of Court warlock rather quickly and almost everyone in the kingdom looked up to him now. Children screaming that they wanted to be like him when they grew up and he could see a lot of girls and even some guys hit on him, though Merlin was totally oblivious to all of it.

It was then that Arthur saw Gilli and the students walk his way, all of them covered in gray dust and slightly angry. They had blown something up again, hadn't they? He stopped, just looking at the group with a slight glare on his face. Gilli was the first to spot him and he could see the guilt clearly spread over the man's face.

''Uhmm... my lord?''

''Did you blow something up again.''

''Part of the southern wall, but Merlin is cleaning it up.'' The last he quickly added as he did not want the king to yell at them for destroying part of the castle again.

''Of course he's cleaning up for all of you.'' Arthur mumbled mostly to himself. ''He's still there?''

Gilli nodded. ''Probably.'' Arthur nodded at that as he made his way towards the southern wall. ''Goodbye Sire.'' Gilli added as he noticed the king walk away, Arthur just smiled at him as his goodbye.

Arthur walked further down to the southern gate, nodding once to the guards to acknowledge them and they quickly straightened their backs at his presence.

Once outside the walls he looked at both sides and it didn't take him long to spot his friend, the raven was clearly deep in thought as he walked back towards the gate. He smiled softly as he walked to meet the other halfway.

Though he had barely walked a quarter of the distance when he froze, he could see a man sneak up to Merlin. He wanted to scream out in warning, but no sound left his lips and he saw how the man almost threw himself on top of Merlin, wrapping his arms around the raven's small waist and lifting him up. He could see Merlin struggle to get out of his grip and it was then that he shook himself out of his sudden shock.

His legs moved on his own, running to save his friend as he drew his sword. Merlin had stopped struggling and just looked totally shocked at the man.

Arthur growled, he wasn't going to let anyone hurt his friend, he would kill anyone who would do so! 'Release him!'


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Hello all my amazing readers. So for all of you the second chapter for this story. Bit of a short chapter this time, but the next one will be longer. Won't say much about it, but I hope that you will all enjoy!**_

xxx

_He had barely reached the gate when he felt a presence near him. He wanted to spin around and face the person behind him, but before he could do anything or even see who or what was behind him he was grabbed by his waist, his arms pinned to his side. _

_He yelped out in shock as he was tilted upwards. He started to struggle, kicking the person behind him. A snicker was heard from behind him before he heard the man speak. ''Merlin, calm down, it's me. You do remember me, right?''_

_Immediately Merlin froze, for a moment just looking shocked in front of him, before he turned to face the man behind him. His eyes met a pair of doe brown ones and a smile that completed the picture. ''Robin?'' He asked weakly._

_''Yeah, it is me.'' The outlaw answered with a chuckle._

xxx

_Though he had barely walked a quarter of the distance when he froze, he could see a man sneak up behind Merlin. He wanted to scream out a warning, but no sound left his lips and he saw how the man almost threw himself on top of Merlin, wrapping his arms around the raven's small waist and lifting him up. He could see Merlin struggle to get out of his grip and it was then that he shook himself out of his sudden shock. _

_His legs moved on his own, running to save his friend as he drew his sword. Merlin had stopped struggling and just looked totally shocked at the man. _

_Arthur growled, he wasn't going to let anyone hurt his friend, he would kill anyone who would do so! 'Release him!' _

xxx

"Release him!''

Merlin heard the voice and immediately recognized it as Arthur's. He snapped his head around, hearing the panic in his friend's voice, though he never had the chance as strong arms grabbed his waist and he was pulled out of Robin's arms and against a muscular chest.

He yelped and immediately his eyes shot upwards, staring startled up at Arthur's face. The king wasn't looking at him, instead he was glaring at Robin. A low growl left the blond's lips. ''Don't you dare touch him again!'' Arthur lifted his sword, pointing it to Robin's chest.

''W-What?'' The archer was blinking startled at him, before his eyes too narrowed as he saw the grip Merlin was in. ''Let him go!'' The brunette hissed as he slowly reached for his pocketknife.

Merlin's eyes grew as he watched the two men and for a moment he feared that they would attack each other. He quickly jumped up, grabbing Arthur's sword arm and pulling it down while getting in front of the king. ''Both lower your weapons!''

''No, get behind me Merlin, I'm not allowing him to hurt you!''

Arthur tried to get him behind his back, but Merlin just slapped Arthur's hand away as he quickly explained. ''Arthur don't, he's a friend! The same goes for you Robin!''

''What?''

The two other men looked startled at the court warlock, but both lowered their weapons and Merlin sighed in relief. He quickly turned to Arthur as he told him. ''This is Robin, an old friend of mine that I told you about. He's the one from Nottingham, he's the one that helped me and Gwen.''

''... He really is?'' The king sounded rather confused.

''Yeah.'' He then turned to Robin, who still was looking slightly confused, though also relieved when he saw the way that Merlin talked to the blond. ''And Robin, I would like to introduce you to King Arthur Pendragon.''

''W-what?'' Robin breathed out startled before his eyes snapped to Arthur and he quickly bowed. ''I... forgive me, sire.''

''I-it's okay.'' Arthur mumbled, still slightly startled by the revelation.

Merlin sighed in relief before he returned to wearing his goofy smile and he slung his arm around Robin's shoulder. ''Come on, I believe that Gwen would love to see you again...'' He glanced at Arthur. ''At least if you allow us to?''

The king narrowed his eyes, glaring at his friend. ''Idiot.''

''Prat.''

''Don't call your king an prat!''

Merlin turned to look innocently at his king. ''But sire, I'm only telling you the truth.''

Arthur let out a growl as he hit the court warlock on the back of the head. ''Just get back to the castle already, Gwen is expecting us for dinner.'' Arthur eyed the archer uncertainly. ''You can join us if you want, I expect my wife to be really excited to see you again.''

''Thank you, my lord.''

The raven just chuckled as he dragged both his friends back to the castle.

xxx

''Uncle Merlin!'' Lucan screamed as he threw himself against the warlock's legs.

Merlin just chuckled as he looked up at Arthur. The king was looking down at his son with a frustrated expression. ''Shouldn't you be welcoming your own father back first?''

The little prince looked unimpressed back at Arthur and he simply answered. ''Nope.'' He then immediately turned back to Merlin. ''So why are you late for dinner, did you fight bad guys? was the castle under attack? Did yo-.''

''Calm down, I just met an old friend of mine.'' He said laughing, still rather amused at the expression that the king was currently pulling, let's just say that Arthur wasn't amused with his son. He then turned the prince around, showing him to Robin. ''Lucan meet Robin an old friend of your mother and me, Robin meet our little prince Lucan, he's Gwen's son.''

''I'm not little!'' The prince protested.

Robin chuckled as he sank to his knees and looked at the prince. ''Hi, it's nice to meet you.''

''Are you a knight?''

''No, I'm just a simple archer, but I was once part of my king's army.''

Lucan narrowed his eyes. ''Are you strong?''

Robin nodded. ''Yeah, I believe so.''

''Do you like my uncle?''

''Yes.''

''Good.'' Lucan said before he pointed at Merlin. ''Than you can be my uncle's friend, but you have to be nice to him and protect him.'' Merlin smiled fondly at the prince, he was actually touched by the boy's words. Lucan dropped his hand and looked back at Robin, closing in a bit more. ''You can also be my friend if you want though.''

''I would like that.''

''Good, now let's eat, I'm hungry!'' The prince said with a smile as he grabbed robin's hand and started to drag him towards the dining room.

Gwen was standing with her back to them as they walked into the room, reading some papers. ''Mommy, father and uncle Merlin are back!'' Lucan screamed as he let go of the man's hand and ran towards his mother. ''And they brought a friend!''

He could hear Gwen laugh as she turned around. ''A friend, who did they br-.'' She fell silent as her eyes fell on Robin and a high pitched laugh left her lips. ''Robin, what're you doing here?''

They walked towards her and she practically threw herself against him, giving the brunette a tight hug. ''It's good to see you again, your majesty.''

''Oh please, don't be so formal with me.'' She then walked up to Arthur, giving him a slight kiss and she gave Merlin a warm hug before asking. ''Did you make that whole trip on your own?''

''No, I didn't, the rest will probably arrive sometime tomorrow. They stayed behind to make camp as I scouted ahead, apparently we were closer than we thought.'' Robin said with a chuckle.

''Arthur, why don't we send out Gwaine and Percival, they would probably like to see them again and then they could bring them back to the castle instead of having to sleep the night outside.''

Arthur simply nodded, knowing that he shouldn't oppose his wife. ''You're right dear, I will ask a servant to get them.''

''Good.'' She then turned to Merlin and Robin. ''Now to get you two to dinner. Robin, I'm certain that you're hungry after such a long journey and we definitely have to get some more meat on Merlin's bones.''

Rboin laughed. ''I can only agree with that one, I believe he's even skinnier than when I last saw him!''


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Hello there, so here's the third chapter in the series, even though this one is clearly a bit shorter then the two previous ones, but next chapter will be longer. We will be meeting old friends this chapter and I wanted to show a bit more of Lucan, I like him and I hope all of you do too. I would also like to thank my great beta reader, she's amazing. Oh and if you have some suggestions then please feel free to let me know. Once more I want to tell you that I'm not Englsh, so please forgive me for any mistakes I have made. **_

_**Disclaimer: I own Merlin and Robin Hood only in my dreams... **_

xxx

Merlin smiled broadly as he leaned on the castle's walls, watching the people in the distance riding closer to Camelot's walls. He had already recognized Percival and Gwaine by their knight's uniforms and he was almost certain who it was that rode with them.

He quickly turned around and hurried down the walls and into the square, followed by Robin who smiled fondly at him. Some of the servants looked with confused eyes at his excitement, but most just shrugged it off knowing the ex-servant.

His smile grew even wider as the riders rode through the walls and onto the square. ''Merlin!'' He heard Will scream as the youngest of the group jumped off his horse and hurried to the warlock, hugging him tightly.

''It's good to see you too Will!'' He laughed in Will's shoulder before turning to the other two that had arrived. ''Much, John!''

Much also hurried towards him, with little John walking after him, and he gave Merlin a hug. ''Hi.'' Merlin said, but before he could say anymore he was patted on the back by little John who was looking fondly down at him. 'Hi to the both of you, I hope that you had a good trip to here.''

''It went well, though if you have something to eat than that would be wonderful.'' Much said with a sly smile on his lips.

''I'm sure we can get something from the kitchens, so let's go inside.''

He walked beside Will and he could only smile when he saw the excitement in the boy's eyes as he looked at the large castle in front of them. ''The castle is huge!'' He exclaimed.

He wanted to say something to Will before his eyes fell on a little boy partly hidden behind the large door of the castle. ''You can come and say hello Lucan.''

The prince stiffened, looking nervously at the strange men before his eyes shifted back to Merlin. The sight of his 'uncle' was all he needed so he quickly straightened his back... because prince's shouldn't show any fear after all. The little prince walked out of the shadow of the doors and towards the group where he stopped next to Merlin and his little hand wrapped itself around Merlin's. Big blue eyes stared silently up at the group.

It was Much who first responded, crouching down in front of the boy. ''Hi, I'm Much and who're you?''

''I.. I'm Lucan.'' He said as he looked curiously up at the man, it was than that he straightened his back and quickly added. ''Lucan Pendragon, son of King Arthur Pendragon and prince of Camelot.''

The ex-outlaws fell silent again as they hadn't expected the boy to be a prince... most likely because they didn't knew how the act in front of a prince, or better said as little as Lucan. So Merlin stepped forwards and introduced the prince to the others. ''And they are Will and little John.'' When he named them he pointed at both of them.

The prince stared up with his big blue eyes and tilted his head slightly to the side as he heard the name little John. ''… But he isn't little.''

John let out a loud laugh before also crouching down to the boy, causing Lucan to shift uncomfortably. ''Yeah, I ain't small...'' John stared at him with fatherly eyes and the prince's stance quickly softened as he looked at the large man in front of him. ''But what should we name you then, you want to be called little Lucan?'' The prince quickly shook his head and Merlin smiled as he knew that Lucan didn't liked to be called little. ''Of course we shouldn't call you little, you're a big boy after all... Hmm, what do you think of Lucan the Enormous?''

Lucan's eyes started to sparkle as he heard his new nickname and he shifted so he stood on his toes, trying to look even bigger. ''Yes, that name sounds good.''

''Than we will have to call you Lucan the Enormous from today onwards!''

The prince wore the biggest smile and Merlin couldn't help but look proudly at the two in front of him. He may not be Lucan's father, but he saw Lucan as his son and he definitely had a big influence in the little boy's life. It was than that he saw a slight movement out of the corner of his eyes and he looked up, staring at the royal chamber's window.

Arthur was looking down at them with a nervous and protective expression. He searched for those blue eyes and Merlin soon locked eyes with Arthur, giving him a reassuring smile causing the king to relax a little. Merlin mouthed to him. ''_It's fine, they're friends._''

Arthur gave him a slight nod before he mouthed his wife's name in return. Merlin nodded and Arthur turned to tell his wife of the arrival of her friends. Even from where he stood the Court Warlock could hear the squeal that Gwen let out when she heard her husband and soon the queen hung out of the window, a startled Arthur grabbing her protectively at the waist to make sure she wouldn't fall out. Gwen disappeared as soon as she had appeared and he was certain that she was on her way down to meet them.

He turned back to look at the group. Lucan was laughing at something little John said and Merlin remembered that he too was a father.

''My lady!'' He turned to look at Much as the servant bowed down as Gwen had walked out of the castle.

''Oh Much I told you all those years back to just call me Gwen.'' She hugged the servant and quickly did the same to the others. ''It's good to see all of you again. You're probably all rather hungry, want to get something to eat?'' The smile on Much's face widened.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Hello all my amazing readers, so here's the fourth chapter of this story and I'm curious what you will all think of it! I'm rahter excited about this chapter, but I won't be giving any spoilers so I will just let you read the chapter. **_

_**I would like to add that I'm not English, so forgive me for any mistakes that I have made (but I really have an incredible beta reader). **_

_**Disclaimer: Yes, of course I own Merlin and Robin Hood.. *kough* Sarcasm *kough* **_

xxx

Morgana stood on the cliff overlooking the large valley near Camelot's border. Her eyes were cold and her lips were clenched in a thin line. The wind brushed against her, letting her hair and dress blow up in the air. Her once deep red dress was now ripped in several places and the color had faded.

The only thing she could say was that she felt horrible, but she had been feeling horrible for those last few years ever since, her eyes darkened at the mere thought of that idiot, ever since her foolish brother had appointed Merlin to become his Court Warlock. She let out a low growl. He had chosen Merlin out of all people, idiotic, stumbling Merlin. Though she should have known that magic had been his secret all along. And than to side with her brother, he should have chosen her side in all of this. She yelled as she slammed her hand into a tree trunk, blowing the wood to pieces.

But as she shouted out her anger she couldn't ignore the small voice in the back of her head. A voice of regret. She had always liked Merlin, calling him her friend, even after he had poisoned her, because she knew he had to do it. She should have asked him for help, maybe then she could have been accepted the way she was, with all of her magic.

There wasn't a way back, she couldn't go back to being the lady Morgana, she could only go forwards and aim for becoming the queen of Camelot. She could never go back...

She stiffened slightly when she heard a twig snap and her magic boiled underneath her skin. ''You're finally here.'' She said as she turned to the man behind her.

From the shadows of the trees a figure appeared. The man looked at her from underneath his raven black hair with eyes maybe even darker then her own. ''I have to say my lady, you're even more beautiful than all the stories say.''

''Don't think that you will come far with your flattery.'' She said crossing her arms. She may have fallen far, but she still had her pride. ''I take it that you still desire the same thing as you mentioned in your letters.''

The grin on his face widened. ''Of course and I take it that you want the same as me. Revenge on the ones that destroyed our lives.'' The figure stepped closer to her and she straightened her back so as not to look weak. He tilted his head slightly to the side as he snapped forwards and grabbed her wrist. ''You want your revenge on your brother and I on those outlaw rats, but we both have one brat in common.''

''Merlin.'' She hissed out her former friend's name.

''Yes that one.'' He released her hand and she quickly wrapped her own hand around her wrist, she didn't like people touching her and luckily for him she still needed him, otherwise she would have blasted him off the cliff. ''I will get my men and I'm sure that together with your power we will be able to get our revenge.''

xxx

Lucan was swinging his feet as he sat next to his new big friend. He turned to look at little John and saw that the man was also looking down at him. ''You like it?'' Little John nodded and Lucan pushed his chest forwards. ''Yeah, that's my uncle for you. He's really great and powerful!''

Lucan liked watching his uncle Merlin train with the students after all. It was so obvious that he was far stronger than the rest and his uncle did tricks for him. Sometimes he would even let him fly or made fire birds for him, but he wasn't supposed to tell anyone, especially his daddy, because he would get mad at uncle Merlin for getting him in 'danger'.

His new friends from far, faaaaarrrrrrr away wanted to watch his uncle teach and it was fun to see their reaction to his magic. He liked how that Much guy squealed like a little girl and how his new big friend stiffened.

He turned to look to his other side and looked at his mommy. It made him happy to see that his mommy was happy with her friends, he could see it. His eyes shifted to his mommy's belly, he knew that inside there was his little brother, yeah he was certain that it was going to be a little brother. It was stupid, why did it take so long for him to get out... or the better question, why had his mommy eaten his little brother. He knew that his brother was in her tummy to grow, but why couldn't he do that out of her tummy? He himself was growing after all and he wasn't in his mommy's belly... He should ask his uncle Merlin later how his little brother came in his mommy's tummy.

He looked up when he heard someone yell and he giggled when he saw that one of the spells had backfired on one of the students. He was looking really funny with his purple hair and face. Though it would be bad if he would keep looking like that. Oh but his uncle would make sure it would be okay.

He really wanted to talk to uncle Merlin, but he knew he couldn't until his lesson was over, it is stupid to wait. He sighed before letting his head rest on his mommy's tummy, he liked doing that cause his mommy told him that he would be able to hear his little brother if he did so... but his little brother didn't really wanted to talk to him, he wondered if his little brother was angry at him.

''Lucan.'' He turned around as he heard his father's voice.

''Daddy.'' He said with a smile as he opened his arms so his father could pick him up.

Next to him he could see that his new friends were startled by the sudden appearance of his father, jumping up and bowing down for him. ''Sire.'' A couple of them mumbled.

He looked from them to his mother and he saw how she slowly stood up and came to kiss his daddy. ''Yuk!'' He didn't need to see them kiss! He glared up at his parents when he heard them laugh.

''Arthur, what're you doing here, I thought you were supposed to be with the council for the whole day.'' Lucan turned in his father's arms as he heard his uncle's voice.

''Me being locked up with the council for a whole day, you know that I would go crazy.'' His daddy said with a laugh. ''I settled for a short break, but that wasn't the only reason for it, I also came to speak to you.''

''What happened?''

''We have an magical disturbance near the border. I don't believe that it's anything big, but I want you to go and reassure the people there.''

His uncle Merlin nodded. ''When do you want me to leave?''

''Tomorrow morning, I will send Gwaine and Thomas with you.''

''I will make sure that everything is in order for me to leave tomorrow.''

''Good, than I will head back to see to the council... Sure you don't want to join me on the council.''

''You are the king.'' Lucan blinked in confusion, what did that mean? He looked up when his father moaned. ''You should return you know. What in the world would the council be able to do without their king.''

His father snickered as he heard those words. ''Fine, I will go, but I will expect you tonight at dinner.'' Lucan was handed over to his uncle Merlin and he happily hugged the raven. He liked being in his father's arms because it was safe and soft, but he was able to wrap his arms better around his uncle's neck and somehow his uncle's hugs were gentler.

Lucan watched as his father walked away when he heard his new friend Willl ask his uncle. ''Are you really already leaving?'' Big brown eyes looked pleading at the warlock. ''Can't I go with you?''

''Will I-.''

The words that were started by his uncle were interrupted by his father. ''This is an official mission, we can't just let untrained people join!''

''Oh come on Arthur, I wasn't trained either, was I?''

Robin appeared next to him and his uncle, placing a gentle hand on a nervous looking Will. ''If Will goes than all of us go and if I may add my lord, we may not be knights, but we having been fighting for a long time. And as you have just said, this mission is more to reassure the people than anything else.''

Lucan looked from the man with the bow to his daddy and he tilted his head slightly to the side, why was his daddy looking so mean at Robin? His eyes turned to his uncle as he said. ''Robin's right Arthur, just let them go with me and I'm sure everything will be fine. We will head out tomorrow morning and will be back the next day.''

''I don't want them to go with yo-.''

''Why not?'' Lucan could hear the frustration in his uncle's voice.

''I-.''

''Arthur.'' The little prince stiffened as he heard the sudden voice of his mother. He glanced at her, it was never a good thing if she only said your name.

The king looked for a moment at his queen and eventually he just let out a deep sigh. ''Fine, you all go tomorrow, but take Gwaine with you.''

Merlin leaned in and squeezed Arthur's arm for only a moment, while he gave him a soft smile. Lucan had seen them do that before and he still didn't understand why they did it. He had asked his mommy, but she had just said it was to reassure the other or something. He still found it strange. ''Thank you.'' His uncle said before turning with a smile to his new friends.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Hello everyone, I'm sorry for taking so long with uploading this next chapter. As you may have noticed I have some trouble with this story, though don't fear, I promise that I will finish this story even if it takes a bit longer. But on the other side, this time you all get a longer chapter. So to go back to the story, I really wanted to try out a few new things, mostly to try to write a bit more humor into my stories, so please forgive me if things end up a bit silly. Last thing I want to add is that I'm not English, so please forgive me for any mistakes I have made. So please enjoy and maybe let me know what you thought?**_

xxx

Merlin smiled as he leaned down from his horse to speak to Arthur, who was looking far more nervous up at him than needed. ''I didn't know you cared so much, Arthur.''

''Hmpff, of course I don't. I just don't feel comfortable with them going with you.'' Arthur responded, quickly setting up his, as Merlin had dubbed it, pratisch face.

The warlock shook his head. ''Arthur, we talked about this. This will just be a small mission and letting them go with me won't do any harm and it gives me the time to catch up with them.''

''Fine.'' Arthur mumbled stubbornly as he crossed his arms.

He could only sigh in return. He knew that Arthur cared for him a lot, even though he didn't speak it out, but sometimes he just wished for the other to say those words, they were best friends after all. He opened his mouth to commend, but was cut of as a high squeal sounded through the courtyard and the young prince came rushing down the stairs and ran towards his father and uncle. ''Uncle Merlin!'' He screamed.

''Shouldn't you be with your teacher?'' The king asked, one eyebrow raised as he picked up his son.

The young boy looked slightly guilty at his father. ''But I wanted to say goodbye to uncle Merlin!''

Merlin and Arthur eyed each other for a moment, an amused smile on both their lips before Arthur handed his son to Merlin who placed the boy in front of him on the horse. Lucan squealed in delight as he was set on top of the horse before turning and giving his uncle a rather difficult hug. ''Goodbye uncle Merlin and good luck!''

''You wanna wish your uncle Gwaine good luck?'' The sudden voice of Gwaine asked as he led his horse next to that of Merlin.

Lucan released the Court Warlock and looked at the knight, a strained expression on his lips before he answered. ''No.'' He then turned to his father, hands out to make it clear he wanted to go down.

Merlin turned to Gwaine, who was looking hurt at the little prince who himself ran towards his new friends. ''He probably didn't mean anything with it.'' He tried to reassure the knight, but it clearly didn't work as he saw the pout on the man's lips. Gwaine turned his horse, leaving for the group of ex-outlaws.

''We're ready to leave!'' Robin shouted as he waved towards the warlock.

''Yeah, we too!'' He returned before turning once more to Arthur. ''I guess we're going, I will be back to tomorrow.''

The king rolled his eyes. ''Just don't get in trouble, you have an habit of doing that after all.''

Merlin smiled broadly, knowing that those words meant that Arthur wanted him to be safe. ''At least now I don't have to save your sorry ass!''

''You do remember that you're talking to your king, right?'' The ex-servant chuckled before turning his horse and leading the mare towards the rest of the group. ''See you tomorrow, Sire!'' He said waving his hand, smiling as he knew how Arthur was responding behind his back.

''We set to go?'' Robin asked as Merlin joined the group. Merlin nodded in return and the group left for their journey.

xxx

Merlin enjoyed the journey, it had been a while since he had left the castle and he just loved th gentle breeze that brushed against his face and the smells of the woods that they traveled through, he definitely needed to get out of the castle more often.

They arrived at the village a couple of hours later and they were welcomed by the village elder. The elder, a man named Johnathan, was clearly quite nervous as he watched the group ride into the village.

Merlin stopped in front of him and Johnathan immediately sank through his knees, which looked rather difficult for his old joints. ''My lord, it's such an honor that you yourself decided to help our humble village.''

Oh how he hated to be called a _lord_. ''Please you don't need to kneel for me. I'm just here to help you and your people. Can you tell me what happened?'' The last he asked as he dismounted.

''Of course, sir.''

They ended up in the elder's home, his wife offering them all something to drink which he politely accepted. Merlin eyed the outlaws and it was rather obvious that John and Will weren't used to all the attention, even though the men of Robin Hood were no longer outlaws didn't mean that they were used to all the attention.

The elder was sitting in front of Merlin, eying the warlock intensely before starting the story. ''My lord, I fear that our village is cursed! Last spring witches came to live in the darkest parts of the forest and since then we only have had misfortune in the village!''

''Are you certain that it are these women that are bringing misfortune to your village?''

The elder nodded. ''Of course it are them, my lord! Who else would have cursed us? We even have two eyewitnesses, two brothers. Those filthy witches cursed them and just mere days later their house burned down!'' The man slammed his fist onto the table and Merlin could see the anger in the old man's eyes. ''They even caused my granddaughter Emily to miscarriage, all of our cows to die and four of our children became ill during last winter.''

''They call that a curse, I would rather call it bad luck.'' Will mumbled from the other side of the table before being elbowed by John as a sign to be quiet.

Merlin could only agree with what Will had just said. It was rather crazy to call that a curse, the village just had an unlucky year, but he had promised Arthur that he would take care of it, so he would. ''What do you want me to do?''

The elder looked almost confused at him. ''Isn't that obvious, my lord? They have committed great crimes against our village and thus Camelot itself. They need to be punished for what they did and I would advise that dead would be a fitting pu-.''

''What?!'' Gwaine growled in anger.

Merlin quickly lay his hand on that of the knight, looking him pleadingly in the eyes. ''Not now.'' He mouthed. The warlock could see the anger in his friend's eyes, but his words clearly softened a bit and he knew that Gwaine trusted him.

Johnathan was glaring at Gwaine before turning his attention back to Merlin. ''As I was saying, my lord. We hope that in all of your wisdom you would be able to help us against this threat. We understand that it may be difficult since you and those witches are kin, but we are sure that your loyalty for this kingdom is far greater than the bond you will feel for your... people.'' He could feel Gwaine's hand underneath his own turn into a fist in anger and he had to admit, he felt the irritation grow within himself too. But he would handle this, he was going to handle this situation!

He took a deep breath. ''I and my men will handle this situation, you don't need to worry. I would like to thank you for the tea and for now we will take our leave.'' With that he stood up, the others quickly following his example.

The elder smiled at him. ''I wish you success with disposing of the threat, my lord.''

Merlin only nodded at him before walking off after they got the instructions to the 'witches' cottage. Gwaine and Robin quickly walked up to him, while the other three men fell in step behind him as they walked towards the horses.

Gwaine was fuming with anger next to him, but he was able to keep his cool till they left the village and rode into the forest. ''Ughh, that man, how dared he say those things!'' Gwaine hissed through his teeth and the warlock heard several agreements from the others behind him.

''Is that the normal view on magic here? It almost sounded like he saw magic users as inhuman.'' Robin asked.

He shook his head. ''Ever since Arthur repelled the ban on magic most of the people have softened up towards magic users, but there are still some left that are clearly against magic and all that use it.''

''So what are you going to do with those witches... I mean, you aren't... you know.. going to kill them, right?'' Will asked for behind.

Merlin turned his head for a moment, giving the brunette a small smile. ''Of course not, or at least not now. We are just going to talk with these people and then we decide what to do. I wouldn't even be surprised if these women aren't even witches, everything that he told us sounded more like an really unlucky village more than anything else. Most can be explained by diseases, most likely because of how harsh last winter was, and the rest it just bad luck if you ask me.''

They drove deeper into the woods and Merlin could feel the soft lingering of magic in the air as they came closer to the small cottage. A slight frown spread over his face as he felt it, maybe these women were actually witches. He quickly held up his hand to stop the group before he dismounted, he didn't want to scare these women after all.

The little cottage came into sight and he signed to the others to stop for a moment. ''I don't think that it's wise to barge in with all of us like this. I don't believe they are hostile.''

''How do you know?'' Will asked as he looked slightly confused at Merlin.

''I felt it in there magic.'' He got rather confused looks from his friends. ''After every spell that is used you get a bit of an... lets say side product. Magic is released and it still lingers in the air, the longer ago the spell was casted the fainter the magic that still lingers. I have read the magic that lingers in this part of the woods and it doesn't feel hostile. Everyones magic is unique and it also clearly shows the intentions of the person using it.''

''Woohh, that's incredible Merlin!'' Gwaine breathed out as he looked excitedly at Merlin.

A slight blush spread over his cheeks. ''Uhh... no, not really. Everyone with magic could learn it... so...''

A arm was slung over his shoulder and he turned to look at Robin who was grinning down at him. ''I may not know much about magic, but it's clear that you're definitely unique and you can be proud of that. Otherwise king Arthur would have never promoted you to Court Warlock!''

''Robin's right, I can't even count how many times you have saved this precious body of mine-'' Camelot's knight let his hands roam over his own body. ''and you know how sad the whole of Camelot would be if something happened to me!'' Gwaine ended his words with a pose, his right hand in the air, left one on his hip and his hair seemed to unnaturally wave into the air.

''Uhh... yeah thanks. But I do believe that it would be wiser for me to go alone to them, we don't want to scare them after all.''

''What if som-.''

''Gwaine I can look after myself.'' He interrupted the knight, why did Arthur and the knights always think that he couldn't look after himself? He told them to stay put and he made his way towards the little cottage.


End file.
